Workshop 2 | Tea, Well-Being & Health

JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles presents a series of explorations of Japanese tea. Each workshop will guide guests through tastings and sensory evaluations to learn the differences between various Japanese teas. With deepened knowledge and experience about brewing techniques and thoughtful pairings, guests will discover new depths of Japanese tea and how to incorporate it into their daily lives.

This multi-part workshop series, intended for the burgeoning Japanese tea and culture enthusiast, will provide guests with a curriculum that includes experiential tasting and group work. Guests can enjoy each session as a standalone experience or expand their journey across multiple sessions, as each will present different teas and pairings, as well as knowledge and techniques of tea brewing.

During the first portion of each workshop, guests will experience both chashitsu, or formal Japanese tea culture (with its focus on omotenashi, or serving tea for guests, paired with seasonal Japanese sweets) and chanoma (daily tea culture enjoyed with family and friends, with casual pairings). During the latter half of each workshop, guests will learn how to brew their own perfect cup of tea utilizing various specialized tea implements.

In this second workshop, “Tea, Well-Being & Health,” guests can sample a variety of Japanese teas known for their health-giving properties, and learn about historic wisdom as well as contemporary research on tea’s multifaceted benefits, and the complex truth about caffeine in Japanese tea.

At the end of this workshop, guests will receive a take-home packet of tea that was featured in class.

About the Instructor

Tsubasa Sano of Engawa Kissa
Tsubasa Sano, the instructor for this series, holds the prestigious accreditation of Japanese Tea Instructor — a benchmark achieved by less than 30% of applicants and widely recognized for its exacting standards for deep academic knowledge as well as applied skills related to Japanese tea.

As “Engawa Kissa,” Tsubasa pops up around LA as a traveling café that offers Japanese tea and a variety of blended teas.

Read more.

Per Tsubasa, “Tea is an important element in my life that teaches us a sense of belonging, exciting encounters, the beauty of human nature, existence, and expressions, and communication. I travel and offer mainly Japanese tea in different parts of the city to deliver what tea has taught me.”

Using her background in editing and product planning, Tsubasa also works in tea catering, product development, editorial, tea parties, promotion, and tea import.